Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 49: Call it Magic Now.

Chapter 49 – Call it Magic Now.

If you were to name the most famous thing in Merhen Academy, it would be impossible to leave out the Magic Sword Emperor.

The stadium was already packed with no room to step. This year’s opening match, the combat event, was a huge success.

“Wow… This is just the first-year match.”

Eric, a scout from the Mysterious Valley, muttered as he took a sip of his drink.

“Of course it has to be like this. It’s a combat event.”

Colin, another scout, opened his mouth as he sat next to him.

“Well, the rules are simple, the viewing is easy… It seems like a popular event that can’t help but be popular.”

Combat was an event that gave merit to many spectators.

The simple one-on-one format made it easy to evaluate the individual abilities of the players, and the power of them clashing with full force in the stadium gave pleasure to the viewers.

“Anyway… We have to do our job. Let’s get ready.”

As Colin threw a glance, Eric immediately started to cast an illusion magic.

Today, they were going to capture the scenes of the match and turn them into visual materials.

“I don’t know if I can focus on the job. I might end up just watching Ivan and miss everything.”

“You’re lucky. I’ve been doing this for over ten years. The students don’t look like students to me, they just look like merchandise.”

“Ugh… Don’t say such disgusting things.”

Eric frowned as if he was appalled by the thought.

“And one more thing. We’re not watching Ivan today.”

At Colin’s sudden remark, Eric tilted his head.

“Huh? What are we supposed to do then…?”

“Flan. Focus on recording him.”

“Huh…? What’s that supposed to mean…?”

“Elisys, the leader, told us to do that.”

“Oh.”

Elisys. At those four letters, Eric was convinced. That was the way of the Mysterious Valley, to cut if they had to cut.

“…Huh.”

As he was about to start his observation, Eric felt a sinister aura.

He looked at Colin, who had a similar expression.

Their eyes simultaneously turned to the right side of the audience.

“It seems to be over there.”

“Yeah, a bloodsucker?”

But soon, that faint aura disappeared.

Eric still couldn’t take his eyes off that direction and murmured.

“What should we do? Should we check it out?”

“Drop it. You can’t find out anything about a bloodsucker by looking. Just do the job you were told to do properly.”

-This is the match between Ivan Rose from the Knight Department and Flan from the Magic Department!

The announcer started the commentary, and Flan and Ivan showed up in the stadium.

Colin checked again.

“Did you hear me? Don’t miss any of Flan’s movements. The leader emphasized it several times.”

“Yeah… I got it…”

Eric looked at Flan, who stood opposite Ivan.

A face filled with nothing but confidence, without any gap. It showed that he was an extraordinary person.

He didn’t flinch even with Ivan in front of him, a fierce spirit, a head that didn’t bow even in front of countless doubting spectators.

He ignored the disregard towards him.

Eric vaguely understood why Elisys told them to pay close attention to him.

‘Why him, instead of Ivan?’

He still didn’t get it.

“A verbal contract should have the same effect.”

“Don’t say that!”

Ivan shakes his right hand vigorously in front of me.

I feel like this will never end, so I reluctantly shake his hand.

-We will start the match now. Three!

After we finish the handshake, we each take some distance. The announcer starts the countdown.

Ivan draws the sword he stuck in the ground.

-Two!

He emits a pure white energy. The sharp energy wraps around not only his body, but also his sword.

It must be his unique ability.

I’ve never seen it before, but it doesn’t seem to pose any problem. I’ll observe and understand it at the same time.

First, observation.

I’ll look at everything in the world as ‘magical’.

I cover my eyes with mana, and all the objects start to be replaced by lines and circles. At the same time, I understand everything as a magician.

I start to see the lines that are drawn all over Ivan’s body. They are not blood vessels, but magic circuits.

Seeing the circuits means that his unique ability is nothing more than one way of using mana.

It’s not much different from magic.

Not much different from magic, that is…

‘…Interesting.’

However, it seems that his unique ability does not require any ‘understanding’ or ‘application’ to manifest.

He just has to want to use it, and he has the leisure to focus on his sword.

Simply put, his unique ability is like a magic scroll that a knight has in his body.

That’s all in one second.

-One!

Ivan’s center of gravity shifts forward.

It’s just a preparatory movement, but it’s very powerful. His toes are already digging into the ground.

I also slowly open my mana.

To grasp the ‘overwhelming victory’ that I boldly wrote and declared on the poster…

I raise my concentration to the utmost.

-Start!

As soon as that, Ivan charges at me like a ray of light.

No, to be precise, he tries to charge at me.

“That’s not it.”

Bang!

Ivan’s head snaps back.

He couldn’t kick the ground as planned. My telekinesis hit his forehead faster than that.

“Output it again.”

“…?”

Ivan’s head slowly returns to its place.

A brief confusion flashes over his face, but that’s just for a moment.

He quickly regains his serious expression and asks me with his eyes.

“Again.”

I answer shortly. There is an absolute good move regardless of taste and preference.

It’s obvious.

Magic is not a realm of emotion, but of reason and calculation. There was a twist in his output just now.

“Hoo.”

Ivan takes a breath and then stomps the ground.

At the same time, his sword slashes the air several times like a flash. The simple swing outpaces the sound.

Swoosh!

The delayed shockwave hits my ears.

The minimal movement, the flawless trajectory, the speed that is hard to follow without concentration.

He moves his body and sword so precisely that it’s hard to believe that he made any movement at all.

But because of that precision, it’s easy to observe.

I look at his ‘line’ with interest.

If I use my magician’s eyes to the extreme, it’s not difficult at all. His trajectory leaves a line.

The sword that swings with the help of his unique ability draws a vicious-looking painting in the air, but I won’t get hurt unless I touch the line.

“Haaah!”

Swoosh!

I avoid the ensuing attacks with minimal movement.

I look at the painting he draws as if I’m admiring a piece of art, and then…

“This line would be prettier.”

I approach him without realizing it.

Instead of backing off, I dig in and touch his wrist.

With just a slight push, his sword slashes the air straight again. I’m satisfied with that.”

“…”

Ivan flinched and retreated back, trembling.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you like it? I think I’ve improved.”

A moment of silence.

Swoosh!

I dodged the sword that swung at me again.

“You won’t be able to see it this time.”

Ivan muttered and backed away far. His speed was also incredible.

Crack!

At the same time, his figure disappeared and the rocks on the ground flew in all directions.

I shot three non-elemental spheres straight ahead.

At the same time, Ivan’s body pierced through all the spheres and revealed itself.

Ivan was already right in front of me, and his speed, boosted by his unique ability, was literally close to a flash of light.

A split second.

The circuit of the flash that I saw with my eyes, Ivan’s body that touched the spheres three times… I combined all that information.

I drew three formulas in my head at the same time.

Interference, destruction, illusion.

This combination of three was enough.

When the sword he gripped tightly tried to pierce through my chest.

Whirl!

After piercing the air above my shoulder, the knight’s body flipped over completely in the air.

“…!”

Illusion, to make him think he stabbed me. Interference, to manipulate his body like magic. Destruction, to make him lose his direction.

Ivan and I locked eyes as he flipped over in the air.

It felt like time slowed down, and I said with my expression as I faced his bewildered gaze.

That’s not how you use it.

Thud! Thud! Boom!

Ivan’s body rolled on the floor like crazy. He couldn’t overcome his own speed and crashed into the wall.

But that kind of thing was already out of my interest.

Curiosity, thirst for knowledge, interest… They all came to my mind.

Apart from wanting to praise his practical skills or power, Ivan was enduring all the backlash from using his unique ability with his body alone.

‘It’s a problem caused by not understanding.’

Whatever you use, you have to understand it.

The manifestation of the magicians, which is based on the equivalent exchange principle, is honest.

They can only use magic as much as they consume mana, and as much as they understand, so the backlash is not big.

But the knights, who can implement these miraculous abilities as easily as breathing, don’t feel the need to understand the principle.

Even worse, they might be deluded that they understand it perfectly.

If all the knights in this world are using their unique abilities like this.

‘Ten years… No.’

Their expiration date would be at most eight years. No, that’s even a generous estimate.

“…What did you do?”

Ivan approached me, mumbling. Unfortunately, I was too busy with my thoughts.

“…”

A smile formed on my lips, which I was rubbing my chin.

It’s interesting.

No matter how many times I think about it, it’s interesting.

I want to repeat the exploration until I lose all this interest.

“Is that all?”

“…?”

“Why don’t you try something else?”

Ivan’s eyes sharpened noticeably. A white aura surrounded his body again.

He was using his unique ability again.

But the density was noticeably thin. It meant that he was also limited by the ‘total amount’.

“Hoo…!”

He brushed off the dust on his face and once again, slammed the ground with all his strength.

It was different from before.

Like lightning, he drew countless lines and charged at me.

But his speed… That was the problem.

“Ugh!”

The sword barely missed me. Ivan twisted in the air again and thudded on the ground.

“Damn it… Damn it, why!”

Ivan shouted and grabbed his sword again. But the result didn’t change.

The number of times Ivan crashed: two.

I confirmed that when the ‘interference’ category was applied to my innate ability, it had its own resistance.

Three times.

Bang!

Surprisingly, I confirmed that there was no additional effect when my innate ability was combined with the ‘support’ category.

Four times.

Boom!

I confirmed that there was some interaction with the ‘harmony’ category. However, it seemed that I needed a deep research to find the interlocking gears.

. . .

Nine times.

Bang!

I confirmed that even if I drew the circuit of my innate ability perfectly, there was an error in the manifestation value.

That is, a magician had to draw a different formula to achieve the same effect. I remembered it clearly.

‘What if I approach it as a summoning, not a manifestation.’

While I was organizing the information.

“…I don’t understand at all.”

I heard Ivan’s voice and confirmed that she was no longer attacking me.

Then I noticed her miserable state.

Everything was miserable. Her hair and body were covered with dust, and her ankles looked stiff and not soft.

Ivan was already exhausted. Only her eyes, shining like a flash, were fine.

As soon as I saw her ragged figure, I frowned. I opened my mouth first.

“We don’t have time for this, Ivan.”

I straightened my clothes and looked down at Ivan, who was no different from a lump of flesh.

“…I still have a lot of questions.”

There was no cheering or booing in the arena.

There was only a silence close to emptiness.

“If you don’t come, I’ll go.”

Of course, I didn’t mean to take a step myself.

ㅡSo don’t worry, just move forward.

I agonized and agonized over what kind of scenery I should show to the other magicians so that they could let go of their worries.

Finally, I came to a conclusion.

Nine times.

I gathered the information I obtained by smashing Ivan to the ground nine times in my head in an instant.

‘Summoning’.

Summoning, but not a simple summoning.

The current address to be moved. The certainty that I will go forward. The creation that I speak as a magician. The negation and change that will push away this world as it is.

The indomitable attitude that will not bow to anyone. The practice that I emphasized to death. An inspiration to someone. The hope that will continue.

I summoned the essence of it with the feeling of summoning.

I insisted on efficiency considering the total amount of mana.

Fortunately, Ivan’s swordsmanship level was high, which was an advantage for me.

Because it was a swordsmanship that was performed with the minimum movement and precision, I could also use the minimum mana.

Drawing a magic circle was not enough. I put my palms together and crossed them slowly as if the gears were meshing.

Kwang!

Finally, the summoned creature appeared with an explosion.

As the smoke cleared, Ivan’s eyes widened.

The golden hair that shone like a wheat field, the thick lips. No one in the arena did not know this appearance.

“…It’s me.”

Ivan muttered in a low voice.

It was true. I summoned a doll based on her origin.

Ivan’s hand holding the sword trembled. She opened her eyes wide and clenched her teeth.

“What are you thinking?”

The energy that wrapped around her became incredibly intense.

“I won’t ask twice. What are you trying to do with a doll that just imitates my appearance?”

The energy that started to scatter like a storm, clearly showed that she was angry.

I looked at her golden eyes without avoiding them.

“Ivan, who devoted her life to the sword, Ivan, who I observed nine times…”

And I calmly recited.

“Which one do you think has better swordsmanship?”

A vein popped up on Ivan’s forehead. She spat out her anger.

“You… are you trying to insult me!”

Kaang!

But when Ivan rushed in, the doll blocked her sword brilliantly.

The knight’s eyes widened.

“What…?”

Ivan clenched his teeth and swung his sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew as their swords collided. The noise was deafening, and rocks flew every time they stepped on the ground.

“Cowardly…! Hiding behind!”

Ivan tried to push aside the summoned creature and aim for me, but the doll blocked him with quick movements.

“Come out! Come forward! Fair and square…!”

Finally, the doll’s body was wrapped in a pure white energy.

I had implanted the circuit I read from Ivan inside it, and it was now manifesting.

“Well, something like this.”

My words made Ivan’s shoulders tremble. His mouth opened slightly.

“What is this…? How, how did you copy my unique ability…?”

His sword shook a little.

“Even the swordsmanship…”

“It’s not swordsmanship.”

I cut off his words.

“How rude of you, Ivan.”

And I corrected him.

There is a clear term for this phenomenon.

“Call it magic now.”